49 JOSE VILLA: Redefining Success with Fine Art Wedding Photography

Initially, Jose’s parents were nervous about him becoming a photographer. As recent US immigrants, they didn’t think his dreams of making money in portrait photography would come to fruition and wanted to see him take on a more traditional career path. 

But Jose knew he was onto something when he started taking photos in high school, and his friends started paying him for senior portrait sessions.

 He loved portraits, he loved film, and he never looked back.

Since then, Jose has been shooting film professionally for all of his clients. He’s been photographing weddings for about 16 years and finds them to be completely immersive, personal, and life-changing for everyone involved. 

In this episode, Jose sits down to share his perspective and tips on what it’s like to be a professional wedding photographer who has an eye for fine art, and how his niche in film photography plays out in the digital age.

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47 PETER CALLAHAN: Embracing Creativity to Lead an Inspired Life

Peter Callahan almost didn’t become a world-famous caterer. Growing up around successful finance businessmen, he felt as if that was his destiny and attended undergraduate programs for business.

But with every elaborate party Peter designed and catered in college, he learned more about crafting incredible experiences through creativity and food.

It would still take him multiple failed college classes and several more years to finally make the leap from a career as a precious metals bonds trader, but at 26 he left to start his own food business and has never looked back.

In his adult life, Peter embraced his creativity and learned it’s never too late to start doing more of what you love. His famous artisanal miniature bites have become the cornerstone of his culinary brand, but with a mind like Peter’s, there is always more on the horizon.

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46 SIMON T. BAILEY: How To Harness Your Brilliance and Turbo Charge Your Business

Simon T. Bailey is no stranger to success, even though he’s quite familiar with failure.

At a young age, Simon was turned down for multiple sports teams-but he didn’t let that stop him.

He left his first college after just one year and moved into a low-income neighborhood. His path took him to a high-level role, which he transitioned away from when it became clear his days as an employee there were numbered.

But in every situation, Simon was constantly searching for a way to use what he was truly passionate about– helping others to discover their inner brilliance.

Simon is unafraid to transform himself, to recognize the need to evolve. He understands this means putting yourself out there and potentially failing.

He spends this episode sharing his experiences and dropping life-changing perspectives on how you can help yourself grow, forgive others, and take responsibility for pursuing your dreams and find success.

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45 TROY WILLIAMS: Fearlessly Paving His Own Path to Celebrity Event Planner Success

Troy Williams is a successful event designer, planner and lifestyle influencer, but his success didn’t happen overnight. It took years of hard work and persistence in following his dream, including cold-calling producers in Hollywood, finding an opportunity to be an intern at Warner Brothers Studios and helping to style celebrities who happened to shop during his shifts at Banana Republic. Above all, Troy credits his career to his passion, talent, and being truly kind to everyone he met.

In this episode, Troy recounts his experience steadily blossoming into an event designer at Warner Brothers, and how he made the leap from a successful career in Hollywood premiere parties to taking on his own business: Simply Troy – where his A-List Celebrity network now recognizes him as a go-to for their own personal celebrations.

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42 EQUALLY WED: Kirsten & Maria’s Revolutionary Online Guide to Planning a LGBTQ+ Wedding

Kirsten Ott Palladino & Maria Palladino are co-founders of Equally Wed, an online wedding magazine celebrating love and weddings in the LGBTQ+ community. It also provides education and resources for same-sex couples and equality-minded wedding professionals. But this is far more than just a business venture.

In 2004, Kirsten and Maria fell in love, getting engaged just before Kirsten’s 30th birthday in Central Park. When Kirsten began searching online and in book stores for wedding planning resources as a same-sex couple, she didn’t see any content out there that reflected her relationship with Maria. Initially disappointed, Kirsten channeled her emotions into a project called Equally Wed — an online journal and national wedding magazine for LGBTQ+ couples. With Maria’s background in graphic design and web development and Kirsten’s experience in writing editorial content, the two created a national wedding magazine and resource guide for people in the LGBTQ+ community and their allies who want to learn, connect, and feel validation that love is love, no matter who you are.

At the time Equally Wed launched, only 6 US states had marriage equality, making Equally Wed not only an online resource for community and wedding resources for the LGBTQ+ community, but also a news and activism site during the movement toward national marriage equality. As the political and social conversation continues to evolve around same-sex marriage, so does the wedding market. Kirsten and Maria continue to push the envelope by developing relevant, thoughtful resources, including the publication of a wedding guide in 2017 specifically for LGBTQ+ couples planning their own weddings.

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